Latino Leadership Council

Category Archives: Education

While meeting with RJUHSD a couple of weeks ago, something they said really surprised me and stuck with me. A large percentage of EL students are actually kids who were born in the United States or have lived here all their lives. They are not immigrants. They have lived all their lives here, speaking English. So how on earth is a life-long English-speaker considered an English Learner? … Continue Reading →

Recently we used this blog space to begin a conversation about balancing the need to provide crucial services with the risk of creating dependency and complacency among the recipients of those free services. We want to ensure that through the services we provide, the Latino Leadership Council creates the independence, competency and pride necessary for community members to not only stand on their own two feet, but also lend a helping hand to those around them. That’s why I was so excited at our most recent community meeting, where students from our English as a Second Language (ESL) class attended to share with us their personal stories and show us how the free classes we offer have changed their lives. … Continue Reading →

Summer is all but done, and over the last few weeks, kids have been going back to school, ready to start a new school year. For many families, the days leading up to back-to-school day involve ensuring all pencils are sharpened, organizing notebooks in backpacks and maybe even some clothes shopping to have the kids look their best. But equal or even more attention should be placed on getting the home environment ready for kids’ return to school. … Continue Reading →

Education is the best social and economic equalizer and the key to improving lives and opportunities in the Latino community. So when it was recently discovered that the Roseville Joint Union High School District had neglected to utilize $328,000 specifically allocated toward helping English-learning students, we were naturally concerned about the resources our students were being denied; the lost opportunities for enhanced education and improved futures; and whether this was an isolated case of negligence or a systemic and ongoing problem. … Continue Reading →

School life isn’t a walk in the park for any school-age kid, but things seem to be even harder for Latino children in our school. Academics are challenging enough, as they should be, but it’s the social pressure and the institutional biases that really bear down on our kids and jeopardize their success. … Continue Reading →